Patong - The Wake

[xylophone]

15 hours ago, London Lowf said:

It’s a shame because the live music bar at the back near the toilets has far and away the best band I have ever seen in Phuket – in fact, it’s the only one that I bother going to. The lead guitarist is highly talented and they manage to do a set without finding it necessary to insert the f-word at every opportunity like some on Bangla.  He also does that classic audience favourite of leaving the stage and posing with various punters while he’s playing.

The venue is called the Hippie Road Bar and the band which plays up until about 10:45 PM, then packs up and moves to play in Red Hot, at the top of Bangla.

 

However the older lead guitarist, whom you describe, stays and plays with the next group which sets up.

 

At Red Hot the band is joined by a younger lead guitarist who is also extremely good, and a very good keyboard player, and in my opinion they are certainly the best band in Patong, and possibly Phuket, and would have to be one of the best live bands I've ever seen.

 

Not only that, the keyboard player can also play drums and rhythm guitar, whilst the lady singer, also extremely good, can also play bass guitar and rhythm guitar into the bargain, and on occasions there are a couple of young male singers accompanying the band and that really does round off a great combination.

 

I agree with you about some of the other bands and the ones in Monsoon, Lion and Soi Freedom can often sound very amateurish compared to the better ones.

 

I have belted out a few numbers with the band at Hippie Road, Red Hot and Freedom, and the Red Hot band stands head and shoulders above the others (IMO).

[Old Croc]

On 12/13/2019 at 5:36 PM, xylophone said:

I have seen more Indian raiding parties than previously, although none of them have visited the totally white Indian restaurant in Soi Sansabai and I think it’s all but closed at the moment. Never seemed to work from day one!

I've heard some Indian company is spending big money to fit out a restaurant on Beach road near Banana.

They also have premises in Pattaya

[xylophone]

9 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I've heard some Indian company is spending big money to fit out a restaurant on Beach road near Banana.

They also have premises in Pattaya

On the one hand, it doesn't seem surprising that someone is trying to cater for the new influx of Indian tourists here, however on the other it would appear that Patong is pretty well served with Indian restaurants at the moment, with Soi Sansabai having at least four in that small narrow road!

 

Out and about there are quite a few more, and also quite a few restaurants which do not seem to be predominantly Indian restaurants but do serve Indian food?

 

Having a restaurant on the beach road would seem to be ideal, but who knows in this current environment where many restaurants are struggling as indeed are some of the Indian owned outlets.
 

[Old Croc]

5 minutes ago, xylophone said:

On the one hand, it doesn't seem surprising that someone is trying to cater for the new influx of Indian tourists here, however on the other it would appear that Patong is pretty well served with Indian restaurants at the moment, with Soi Sansabai having at least four in that small narrow road!

 

Out and about there are quite a few more, and also quite a few restaurants which do not seem to be predominantly Indian restaurants but do serve Indian food?

 

Having a restaurant on the beach road would seem to be ideal, but who knows in this current environment where many restaurants are struggling as indeed are some of the Indian owned outlets.
 

I would presume to get large premises in that location would indicate something more planned than the average curry house in a back street.

I mentioned the Pattaya link to illustrate it's somewhat more than an individual startup.

[Olmate]

10 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

I would presume to get large premises in that location would indicate something more planned than the average curry house in a back street.

I mentioned the Pattaya link to illustrate it's somewhat more than an individual startup.

Maybe above Coffee Club, Starbucks,or at ground level there was a convenience store now closed that always was a dead zone.

[xylophone]

31 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

I would presume to get large premises in that location would indicate something more planned than the average curry house in a back street.

I mentioned the Pattaya link to illustrate it's somewhat more than an individual startup.

Yes, good point, although near OTOP there is a very large Indian restaurant which would seat probably about 100 people, but that doesn't seem to be that full at any time. The strange thing is that right next door there is a huge dining area which was full of small fish tanks supposedly containing oceanic delights and which would cater for probably twice that many, but again that seems to have been struggling.

If those folks have the money to spend, then so be it.

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, Olmate said:

Maybe above Coffee Club, Starbucks,or at ground level there was a convenience store now closed that always was a dead zone.

From what I remember, that place has always had a bit of a jinx on it and Villa Market opened and closed in pretty quick time when it was there, and in the couple of visits I made, it was basically empty!

Interesting times, that's for sure.

[xylophone]

Well this is Christmas in sunny Patong,
Another year over and a new one just begun,
And despite all the promises, and numbers from TAT,
The quality is poor and their spending is cr@p. (sung to the usual tune).

 

Well that's the current state as I see it, having been out and about over the last few days and weeks.

 

There is no doubt that there are more tourists about now than there has been over the previous few months, but nowhere near the throngs which used to fill Patong in years gone by.

 

And as I said, the quality is poor, and not surprising given the strength of the baht and even the cheap Chinese seem to be down in numbers, although the queues outside of Number 6 restaurant just get longer – – queueing for a 90 baht meal of chicken and rice or noodles?? Quality tourists, bah humbug! 

 

However they are evident in walking two or three abreast in the road and attracting the ire of road users, shouting noisily instead of talking, thereby disturbing others, and the local large Starbucks which used to be full of these noisy buggers has on many occasions been almost empty, which is good for "normal folk" who can now enjoy peace and quiet and a read of the newspaper!

 

Interestingly enough, outside of this large Starbucks there were three little wooden "sheds/booths" all of whom share a common fate........one was a juice and snack bar, which closed because it wasn't making any money and the booth was removed; the other is a juice and snack bar which is now closed (lack of business); and the last one is a newly remodelled and repainted one which was originally a "Belgian sausage and fries" outlet which closed, then was a "home-made burgers" outlet, which closed, then it was a Korean food outlet, which closed, and now, lo and behold it has opened as one supplying a limited range of Chinese food, including one which was delightfully named, "Chinese Hamburg" (combined effort from China and Germany I suppose?).

 

In the more than eight hours (over four days) that I have observed it, I have seen two people stop to buy something so I don't see it being a huge success.

 

On that note, nor do I see the bars in the former car park off Soi Sansabai and behind the Boxing Stadium doing much in the way of business to keep them afloat year-long, although another poster has said the rents are cheap? 

 

Plenty of Russians about, but the property girls in the booth's tell me that they are not buyers, nor are many people by the sound of it, and these girls are having a tough time of it. And as if to reflect the type of Russian tourists they are, I have observed many of them exiting Family Mart and similar with plastic bags full of large beer bottles, and have also seen them sitting alongside of the road outside of some of these places partaking of their purchases.

 

As if to compound this picture of "doom and gloom", the recently opened restaurant, La Drinkeria, has been empty in the many times I've passed by, and surprisingly the huge Dons BBQ restaurant was last night completely empty and I would have thought he would have put something on for Christmas Eve or New Year's Day??

 

There were a few other smaller establishments around the place who had done just that, and they were populated by farangs who seemed to be enjoying themselves, and indeed I partook of the Christmas Day dinner at the Summer Breeze guesthouse/hotel and it was very good indeed – – good food, good service and a free glass of wine.

 

For other restaurants in Soi Sansabai, it was a mixed bag with the Italian/Thai restaurant doing well but the Indian restaurant opposite, which resembles an operating theatre, empty again.

 

Bangla Road itself was very busy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day evening, and some of the bars were doing okay, but others were struggling and indeed Soi Seadragon was a surprise in as much as there were very few farangs milling around the place. Yet the very noisy New York bar was packed to the gunwales with the younger set enjoying the loud music and being crammed in like sardines – – which they seem to like?.

 

In contrast, earlier on in the evening, there was just about nobody in Monsoon and the band was terrible, and I mean terrible, and had they been auditioning for the "worst band in the world" title then they would have snaffled it with no problems whatsoever.

 

Bangla Road consisted of the usual mix of tourists, with Chinese and Indians included, although more Indians than Chinese from what I could see.

 

And to top the lot, from a visiting friend from the UK, quote, "the girls have gotten uglier and fatter, and to compound this the cost of their lady drinks has also gone up quite markedly".

 

On that subject, I visited the bar of a Thai guy I had known for quite some time, along with a friend, and ordered a rum and coke, and it came in the smallest glass that I've ever seen for that type of measure, and it would have probably amounted to one shot of rum and one shot of Coke, with a couple of ice cubes, and could have been downed in one fell swoop (but it wasn't) and the cost was an astonishing 200 baht.

 

Now I have the means to be able to pay four expensive drinks, but I don't want to be ripped off, or my intelligence to be insulted, so I won't be visiting that bar again. It seems the old adage here that when the numbers go down, put the prices up, is alive and well, but will cost them in the long run.

 

Overall, IMO, it is not heartening scenario here if one is a small business owner and I really don't see how many can survive, and as if to support this, there have been more closures on the top floor of Jungceylon as well as on the lower ground floor and even on the best of days, the restaurants in Jungceylon Alley are never that full.......and they certainly don't appreciate the mini "food kitchen" which has just opened in Big C taking away business.
 

[xylophone]

I seem to be the only poster these days on this thread, so feel a bit of a lemon just posting after my last post and so on, however perhaps this one contains some snippets of new information.........????

 

On another thread I did see a poster who suggested that the opening and closing of small businesses here is pretty well the norm worldwide, but I'm not sure that is the case, because businesses here open and close in the same spots, with frightening regularity and just to highlight that, I mentioned the new little Chinese food booth outside of Jungceylon which has replaced a few other ventures, and would be interested to see how that lasts.

 

However to add to that, two little bars (roller blind bars I call them) just down the road from me have now closed, both having been something else in the past and closed; the café 555 which sprang up in the place of the Italian restaurant Siciliamo and which didn't seem to be doing much, if any business, has now closed and has a "under new ownership" sign in the window?; I do believe La Drinkeria has finally done its dash, this after being closed for a short while, then opening again to catch the supposedly "high season" and now seems to have been closed for a few days which is not surprising because it had very few customers; and earlier, speaking of Jungceylon, there were another 10 small "shop booths/counters" that have closed down since the last time I was there.

 

For me this opening and closing all in a matter of months, and being repeated many times, is not normal and is more a sign of the times.

 

To add to the "sign of the times" theme and possibly linked in with the quality of tourist we now have here......there have been many times when I have gone into Starbucks for a tea and to read the paper, only to find out that it is not there, so when I asked the staff where it was, they said it was delivered but they don't know where it is??

 

I think I've gotten to the bottom of this mystery because just the other day I was getting my tea and making my way towards a seat before going to get the paper when I saw this guy come through the door, go to the paper rack, pick up the paper and make off with it, so I chased after him and caught him after a few metres and asked him what he was doing with the paper from Starbucks, and he suggested that he took it because he wanted to read it, and I informed him that it was for the customers and not to be taken out like that and took it off him and put it back.

 

He was American and said he didn't really see anything wrong in taking the newspaper – – quality tourist, eh? 

 

More quality Russian tourists (about 10) last night outside of a large bar in Bangla, where they parked themselves on the pavement and a couple of spare chairs which were around the place, drinking spirits from a very large dark bottle and a couple of large bottles of Coke, whilst listening and dancing to the music but not wanting to buy any drinks. So when one of them wanted to go into the bar to use the toilet, the staff politely pointed him elsewhere – – good on them.

 

This being my usual/favourite bar, I was quite surprised to see one of the dancers tempt a friend of mine into playing a little game with five dice each and a couple of individual shakers, which looked to be quite entertaining/amusing, but which only lasts for a matter of minutes. But the point is that when it appeared that the dancer had "won" she immediately screamed that she was owed a tequila for winning, and somehow it got put onto my bill and I was able to see that it cost me 220 baht for a minuscule shot of tequila!

 

Now there's another thing with this, in as much as if the friend had won, there would have been no way in the world that the dancer would have bought them a drink – – just another way to con the customers and something which I wasn't too pleased about in my usual bar; reminds me of the Bob Dylan song, "times they are a changing". 

 

This has been unlike any other high season for me in the 13 years I've lived here, and in the 15 years I've been coming here, because it was late starting and then never really got going, and now once the little spike of tourists is over, things have settled down to being fairly quiet again.

 

There are times when you wouldn't think so because of the amount of traffic about, however quite where the people in these vehicles end up is beyond me, because it certainly isn't in the likes of Jungceylon.
 

[ChasingTheSun]

Thanks for the good report Xylophone.  Pleased to hear you caught the newspaper thief red-handed.

 

perhaps the quick openings/closings are a reflection of the relatively low cost of many small business startups and/or the ease of obtaining short-term lease terms in Patong? 

 

In my neck of the woods, Kamala seems busier this year compared with the previous couple of years.
 

[xylophone]

5 minutes ago, ChasingTheSun said:

Thanks for the good report Xylophone.  Pleased to hear you caught the newspaper thief red-handed.

 

perhaps the quick openings/closings are a reflection of the relatively low cost of many small business startups and/or the ease of obtaining short-term lease terms in Patong? 

 

In my neck of the woods, Kamala seems busier this year compared with the previous couple of years.
 

You have a point with regards to the relatively low cost of many small business start-ups, however on the other hand the idea of many months rent upfront, or many thousands of baht as key money as a form of "deposit" can be tempting for some, but will lead many others into areas in which they have no experience, i.e. opening a small business?

 

Upon reflection, I don't think that key money plays an important part in the opening and closing of small businesses here, but certainly the many months rental upfront can be the trap.

This is because if the business goes belly up, the upfront money will not be refunded.

 

Pleased to hear that somewhere nearby is experiencing busier times, but is it resulting in an increase in spend?

[schlog]

55 minutes ago, xylophone said:

 

There are times when you wouldn't think so because of the amount of traffic about, however quite where the people in these vehicles end up is beyond me, because it certainly isn't in the likes of Jungceylon.
 

Big part of the traffic is related to the cruise lines at Patong bay. On days without cruise liner it's traffic as usual. Cruise liner at bay traffic jam all around Patong.

Some days ago with 2 cruise liner in Patong i need 1.5 hours to go with my car to Big C and back to buy some bread. Normaly done in 20 minutes lol.

 

Yup xylo that's no high season......sad state here.

[ChasingTheSun]

38 minutes ago, xylophone said:

You have a point with regards to the relatively low cost of many small business start-ups, however on the other hand the idea of many months rent upfront, or many thousands of baht as key money as a form of "deposit" can be tempting for some, but will lead many others into areas in which they have no experience, i.e. opening a small business?

 

Upon reflection, I don't think that key money plays an important part in the opening and closing of small businesses here, but certainly the many months rental upfront can be the trap.

This is because if the business goes belly up, the upfront money will not be refunded.

 

Pleased to hear that somewhere nearby is experiencing busier times, but is it resulting in an increase in spend?

I suppose landlords would be desperate these days in certain areas of patong, especially the  east-side of town. 
 

perhaps they are offering flexible  leases with one month deposit and one month cancellation notice, and no other key money or fees? 
 

fallangs and other thai dreamers give it a go and lick their wounds after if goes bellyup.

[London Lowf]

I can't compete with the regulars on here for in-depth local knowledge, but this visit I am very surprised to see vacant spaces at the Banzaan night food market. I would have assumed that there would be a waiting list to get a patch there?

 

It was always very popular with the Chinese, who seem to go crazy for the seafood, but their numbers are apparently dwindling?

 

Conversely, I don't recall EVER seeing a Indian in there, and I eat there about four times a week when I'm here.

[Patong2]

Xylophone

I am sure many others look forward to your insightful posts on Patong. You can never write too much.

 

I have the problem of walking past some of these shops and realising something has changed and cannot remember what the heck used to be there.

 

My wife and friend frequented a massage come manicure place in the basement of Jung Ceylon and the last few times the girls were operating with no lights on and it was too dar for them to properly do the job. Apparently the power bill wasn't being paid. Last week (in the peak of "high season") they closed. maybe they weren't paying the rent also?

 

Drinkeria open tonight with several customers. Backside was very busy but not a lot of people for this time of year but far too much traffic.

[xylophone]

46 minutes ago, Patong2 said:

Xylophone

I am sure many others look forward to your insightful posts on Patong. You can never write too much.

 

I have the problem of walking past some of these shops and realising something has changed and cannot remember what the heck used to be there.

 

My wife and friend frequented a massage come manicure place in the basement of Jung Ceylon and the last few times the girls were operating with no lights on and it was too dar for them to properly do the job. Apparently the power bill wasn't being paid. Last week (in the peak of "high season") they closed. maybe they weren't paying the rent also?

 

Drinkeria open tonight with several customers. Backside was very busy but not a lot of people for this time of year but far too much traffic.

Thank you for your kind words P2, and I know exactly what you mean about the basement in Jungceylon because I have seen a few other shops in there become vacant of late and that coincides with the fact that there are not many customers or potential customers walking through there.

 

Strange about La Drinkeria as its opening schedules seem to be all over the place. Opening time is supposed to be 4 PM, but tonight I passed by at 4:30 PM and it was closed and the same goes for a few other times over the past week or so.........struggling perhaps and trying to hang on by its boot-laces as the saying goes??

 

In addition to that london Lowf posted regarding vacant spaces in Banzaan market, something which I hadn't noticed, but then again would never have thought possible, as to me that epitomises locals endeavouring to start a business up the hard way and being successful at it as well, but maybe not so these days......?

Edited January 10, 2020 by xylophone

[London Lowf]

One thing to bear in mind is that places might be busy at one time of day and dead at others.

 

I haven't eaten in Backside (yet) but I am a sucker for the crab meat soup in the Thai restaurant opposite, and Backside was completely empty on my two visits this week although the bar next door is always busy - but I eat at about 11pm, so maybe I miss the rush!

[bwpage3]

On 6/28/2017 at 4:23 AM, Prometheus33 said:

Neither Patong nor Phuket has failed .. both are alive and doing well ...... Perhaps one can say that it isn't doing as well as it used to. That's  for sure .. have you taken a look at the world economy recently ?! .. Most people can't afford a decent holiday because they simply do not earn enough these days !! Tourism in Patong / Phuket has taken a hit same as other tourist spots at other places .. 

I was in Patong recently (@ the Burasari) and enjoyed my stay  .. as did my son and his fiancee ( she flew Prague Moscow Phuket , I mention this because the focal point of her / their holiday was Phuket / Patong not Bangkok or elsewhere ) , both have just completed their MBA and I dare say very discerning travellers !! They spent 15  days in Patong and 6 days in  Kata and say they will be back  again .. When young people feel a place is worth going back to, well, I reckon there is hope yet !! 

This has no relevance at all and you are making a scene.

 

What does one's educational level have to do with their being a tourist?

 

Discerning travelers? Come on Man. Discerning travelers with money have 1000 other nicer places to take a vacation than Phuket.

 

Do you read the news because it seems to contradict your point these areas are doing well?

 

Thailand is not a decent holiday, it used to be a cheap holiday, nothing more.

 

When was the last time you went on a holiday and the hotel was more than US $1,000 a night?

 

 

[Lashay]

On 1/10/2020 at 5:57 PM, xylophone said:

 

 

This being my usual/favourite bar, I was quite surprised to see one of the dancers tempt a friend of mine into playing a little game with five dice each and a couple of individual shakers, which looked to be quite entertaining/amusing, but which only lasts for a matter of minutes. But the point is that when it appeared that the dancer had "won" she immediately screamed that she was owed a tequila for winning, and somehow it got put onto my bill and I was able to see that it cost me 220 baht for a minuscule shot of tequila!

 

Now there's another thing with this, in as much as if the friend had won, there would have been no way in the world that the dancer would have bought them a drink – – just another way to con the customers and something which I wasn't too pleased about in my usual bar; reminds me of the Bob Dylan song, "times they are a changing". 

Think maybe need to find new bar if true, most bars i go to, you play, you win, you get drink. Note by drink mean tequila/sambuca so forth, not anything you want (it generally goes on girls tab, so even if your losses cost you 180-250 she makes less than half that, so if you were drinking say JD coke she would need to win at least 2 to 1 just to break even).

 

Only times they might not pay up is if unknown customer (or known cheap Charlie) who has bought them nothing yet, as to many times girls have got burnt by guys playing, winning first game, getting their drink and then suddenly deciding they want quit while ahead.

 

Many a night i have had to quit playing bar games because win to much and the shots start messing me up

 

Ps if out with friends and splitting bar tabs, generally wise to keep lady drinks separate, seen many a friendship end because people don't do that

Edited January 11, 2020 by Lashay

[Yahooka]

Please keep us updated on the comings and goings in Patong xylophone.I haven`t been to Phuket the last 8 years ,but since Phuket was the first place I visited in Thailand 26 years ago I`m still a bit found ❤️of her and maybe I will return one day based on your reports here ????.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Yahooka

[madmitch]

11 hours ago, Lashay said:

Think maybe need to find new bar if true, most bars i go to, you play, you win, you get drink. Note by drink mean tequila/sambuca so forth, not anything you want (it generally goes on girls tab, so even if your losses cost you 180-250 she makes less than half that, so if you were drinking say JD coke she would need to win at least 2 to 1 just to break even).

 

Only times they might not pay up is if unknown customer (or known cheap Charlie) who has bought them nothing yet, as to many times girls have got burnt by guys playing, winning first game, getting their drink and then suddenly deciding they want quit while ahead.

 

Many a night i have had to quit playing bar games because win to much and the shots start messing me up

 

Ps if out with friends and splitting bar tabs, generally wise to keep lady drinks separate, seen many a friendship end because people don't do that

Those shots are about 10ml. It's one way the bars survive. 70 shots from a bottle at 220 baht a shot, less the bargirl's 50 baht. That's nearly 12,000 baht on a bottle of liquor that costs 300 baht. That's some markup!

[xylophone]

13 hours ago, Lashay said:

Think maybe need to find new bar if true, most bars i go to, you play, you win, you get drink.

I've had that experience in other bars, however I think this was a little different, inasmuch as the girls were not actually bar staff per se, but "dancing girls" and I think a couple of them were doing this of their own volition, in order to get drinks and of course the commission from them.

 

Will look out for that on my next visit!! Once bitten, twice shy!

[HighPriority]

Keep writing xylophone, I also enjoy.

My wife got her visa to come to Oz in June 19, so I don’t have much time to spend here, but I enjoy reading your thoughts when I do.

My friends who bought a hotel near Otop are finding it hard...

[LivinginKata]

My observations as a rental home owner. It's been a slow pick up this year. Took until early January 2020 to fill up our homes to the high season workers we usually see in Nov/Dec. Seems that the club owners not sure whether to hire these high season Farang workers. That say a lot. 

 

Drove along Nanai last week about 12.30 and foot traffic was very high. Never seen that since last year. Money income is tight for we small scale businesses, no idea how those paying big rents will survive even just a couple of months. But there is a new Backpacker place bottom of Nanai 2 caller Slumber Party that it very busy with young fit looking people just flooding in with back packs. This owner consortium have a few places in Patong and Krabi that they make a 3 year lease contract with owners not making much money. See how that works.  

[Lashay]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

 

 

Drove along Nanai last week about 12.30 and foot traffic was very high. Never seen that since last year. Money income is tight for we small scale businesses, no idea how those paying big rents will survive even just a couple of months. But there is a new Backpacker place bottom of Nanai 2 caller Slumber Party that it very busy with young fit looking people just flooding in with back packs. This owner consortium have a few places in Patong and Krabi that they make a 3 year lease contract with owners not making much money. See how that works.  

Yeah slumber have bern around Patong for at least a year now. Seem to have fair amount of customers judging by their bar crawls on Bangla, but most bars seem to want little to do with them or their customers, they make cheap Charlie's look like big spenders, hardly surprising when their bed rates go as low as 180 per night in low season (which is actually cheaper that their hostel in Ao Nang)

 

There is a bar in Ao nang that told belongs to them, its cocktails are quite good but more expensive than night in their accommodation, so they are not stupid, makes me think their real earnings comes from extras like tours/bar crawls/bike rentals so forth

[madmitch]

11 hours ago, Lashay said:

Yeah slumber have bern around Patong for at least a year now. Seem to have fair amount of customers judging by their bar crawls on Bangla, but most bars seem to want little to do with them or their customers, they make cheap Charlie's look like big spenders, hardly surprising when their bed rates go as low as 180 per night in low season (which is actually cheaper that their hostel in Ao Nang)

 

There is a bar in Ao nang that told belongs to them, its cocktails are quite good but more expensive than night in their accommodation, so they are not stupid, makes me think their real earnings comes from extras like tours/bar crawls/bike rentals so forth

I met the owners of Slumber Party a while ago and had quite a long chat. They have a very good business model and you're spot on Lashay. Lub'd on the other hand go for more boutique style accommodation and make their money more on the beds and people hanging around, buying their food and drinks. Plenty of backpacker accommodation in Patong these day, a bit different from when the only hostel in Patong was The Crown Hostel which due to it's location at the back of Rock City was hardly conducive to a good night's sleep!

[xylophone]

On 1/24/2020 at 9:29 PM, LivinginKata said:

Seems that the club owners not sure whether to hire these high season Farang workers. That say a lot.

Think you are right there LiK as I know of one guy who was particularly prominent in the area of bringing in farangs to work in and outside of clubs and pubs here, as well as other ventures, but he has given it up altogether because business is too slow for these people to make much of a difference, so now he just meanders around the place looking lost!

 

On 1/24/2020 at 9:29 PM, LivinginKata said:

Money income is tight for we small scale businesses, no idea how those paying big rents will survive even just a couple of months

Again I have to agree with you LiK and as I have said often enough here, a lot of bars/small businesses are finding it tough and in amongst all of that, there is some typical Patong/farang behaviour, let explain........... 

 

Lack of business has put several bar/business owners in a precarious position, however, as friend in real estate here has said, there seems to be some illogical behaviour out there, inasmuch as some return home to earn money to be able to bring back here to invest in a business that's not making any money – – go figure.

 

It has been rumoured that La Drinkeria was in that position, and it could explain why it was closed for a couple of months? Then of course there is the café which replaced La Siciliamo and which has shut again, not to mention a bar or two around Bangla.

 

Somewhere around halfway down Nanai there is a boutique hotel called Bella Cose (or something similar) which has been on the market for some time, however there seems to be some activity in the place now, although I'm not sure just how much activity, because it would appear that a couple of farangs have leased what was the bar in the front of the hotel and are making major alterations to it.

 

A friend in the business suggested that perhaps the owner has kept the hotel part of it and leased out the bar business at the front, which would seem plausible judging by what sort of work is going on.

 

But will it suffer the same fate as other similar ventures which have no parking spaces (apart from for perhaps a couple of motorbikes) very little to none in the way of foot traffic, and if there is, it's usually Chinese walking to their cheap accommodation, and this is a place which has never seemed to enjoy good patronage??

 

Many other small businesses are struggling and none more so than in Nanai, where I have seen massage parlours advertising massages at around half the normal price, and this is the high season!

 

On 1/24/2020 at 9:29 PM, LivinginKata said:

But there is a new Backpacker place bottom of Nanai 2 caller Slumber Party that it very busy with young fit looking people just flooding in with back packs.

I was out on Friday night and saw a "Slumber Party" group meandering down Bangla, on their way to a bar, according to the owner of the bar in which I was drinking, and he remarked that he was expecting a group called "Bodega" in his bar very shortly!

 

I suggested that getting a load of drinkers into his bar would surely boost his takings, however his remark was that many of them were "well on the way" before they got to the bar and after getting the free drink, which consisted of some sort of fruit juice mixed with cheap tequila, they didn't normally buy a lot, although some did, but other times he remarked that some of them got onto the water, so he didn't consider the whole affair much of a moneymaker.

 

I think this and Slumber Party are famous for their pub crawls and the cheap booze which can be bought at the hostels, so the numbers might boost tourism here a smidgen, but the spend certainly wouldn't!

[xylophone]

On 1/24/2020 at 11:04 PM, Lashay said:

Seem to have fair amount of customers judging by their bar crawls on Bangla, but most bars seem to want little to do with them or their customers, they make cheap Charlie's look like big spenders,

Basically mirrored what my bar owner friends said, although he did accommodate them because if the bar looks busy, then other people will come in, even if the spend isn't that high!

 

There are some things which I have trouble comprehending here, inasmuch as at one time Phuket was called "The Pearl of the Andaman" and was going to be built up into something which would attract the high spenders and the top end of the market, however looking around these days, and looking particularly in and around Patong where the nightlife is, the vision of a "Pearl" quickly disappears.

 

The place is a mishmash of shopping malls with high-end stores, down to metal roller blind shops and includes shoddily built guesthouses and hotels, along with some very lovely ones I may add, serviced by an infrastructure which hasn't coped in years, yet still more hotels and guesthouses are going up – – and the current water shortage doesn't help, mind you, I was buying in water by the truckload some 10 years ago for my house here.

 

I was looking for the right word to describe the place and kaleidoscope came to mind, because things are changing and some things are annoying, whereas some things are very pleasing, and perhaps it's this which keeps people like me interested and I have described it as vibrancy in the past.

 

When thinking about the above, I likened Patong to the bar scene in one of the Star Wars movies, which contained all manner of beings and things, and sometimes it seems like that in Patong!

 

The ever-changing mix of nationalities ranges from the disgusting behaviour of some of the Chinese, the menacing-like look of some hugely tattooed bods (saw one yesterday with tight shorts, muscular tattooed bod and wearing no shirt, but sporting a woollen beanie!) to the everyday holiday folk and the occasional event which restores one's faith in this place and humanity.

 

Yesterday saw one such event, as I was carrying a pack of six large bottles of water to the checkout in Big C and was about to queue up waiting for the next teller to become available, when a young man asked if he could carry the water for me? I suggested that I could manage, but he took the water from me and said, "I am a young man of 23 and how old are you?", to which I replied, "73 this year" so he said in that case, I will carry it for you and he did!

 

He was a very pleasant young man and I asked him where he was from, and he said he was from Kuwait, and I thanked him profusely for his kindness and walked away feeling like he had made my day with that kind and caring gesture. There's hope yet!!

 

As I have mentioned in other posts, a couple of folk I know have recently opened bars here, which I find quite amazing, not only because from what I can see going on in Bangla and surrounds, the bar scene and the inhabitants thereof seem to be diminishing, as does the spend therein.

 

Sure I hope they do well, but if feedback from a few others I know in the business is anything to go by, then they will also struggle. 

 

I was speaking about this to a friend who specialises in selling small businesses, mainly because about three years ago he had a buyer for a bar in Bangla, but the owner wanted far too much for it (30 million baht plus??) So the prospective deal didn't happen, however this friend now suggests that there is a huge disconnect between what bar owners and landlords want for the bars and what people are prepared to pay these days, and owners are "dreaming" if they think their bars are worth anything like this now – – maybe a time when a few were, but certainly not now.

 

The only thing that seems to be going up is the price of the drinks in some of the bars, whilst the value of the bars is certainly dropping.

 

And just to finish off this little post, I did finally see a couple dining in the all-white operating theatre style Indian restaurant in Soi Sansabai.........
 

[xylophone]

7 hours ago, xylophone said:

As I have mentioned in other posts, a couple of folk I know have recently opened bars here, which I find quite amazing, not only because from what I can see going on in Bangla and surrounds, the bar scene and the inhabitants thereof seem to be diminishing, as does the spend therein.

Maybe I should switch to fortune-telling or something similar as not long after I had written this, I was driving out onto Nanai and noticed that the two roller-blind bars that had recently closed, one of them having had about three reincarnations already, were being inspected by folk.

 

Turns out that one is going to be turned into a clothes shop and the other one is going to reopen again as another bar, sponsored by a farang with a younger Thai girl in tow by the looks of things, and it makes me wonder if some people have more money than sense, although I believe the clothes shop is going to be rented by a Thai?

 

So here we have a tiny bar, which is hidden in a small off-road Soi, with little to no passing traffic and no vastly populated guesthouses or hotels nearby, and to top that, about 50 m away there is another similar type bar, although twice the size but at least it's on the main road, although by way of business, it may have two or three farangs in on odd occasions.

 

I also noticed that the Green Mango guesthouse and bar/restaurant is now open again, so someone must have taken up the lease, because it's been closed for a good six months – – obviously getting it ready for the next high season should it ever come!!!!!

 

Take your pick......optimists or fools, or perhaps blinded by that thing called, "Lurv".
 

[schlog]

13 hours ago, xylophone said:

 

Take your pick......optimists or fools, or perhaps blinded by that thing called, "Lurv".
 

"Lurv" 555. Must be hard for the girls to find patients of love these days with all the indians and chinese around.

 

Yup xylo you so right about the messed up infrastructure in Patong.

Maybe my memory is bad but wasn't the last real big project the building of Rath-u-tit road incl. sewege pipes in 1995?